chapter 4
To gain a deeper understanding of the two brothers’ situation, we have to rely on their family.
I flipped ahead, searching for the transcript of their father’s statement.
Their mother had passed away ten years ago, leaving Father He as the only family member.
Father He is a retired teacher, currently suffering from late-stage lung cancer, being treated at the City People’s Hospital, with a life expectancy of less than two months.
After receiving the bad news, his condition worsened, and he was admitted directly to the ICU, only coming out a couple of days ago.
After all, he is both the Victim’s family and the suspect’s family, caught in a painful dilemma.
Due to his health, Father He didn’t say much, but the Police obtained testimony from the Nurse Aide.
The Nurse Aide said-
The old man has been hospitalized for a year and a half. When he was first diagnosed, it was already late-stage lung cancer, and now it has metastasized to the bones. He doesn’t have many days left.
During this time, it was always the Eldest Son running around taking care of things. Although he and the old man don’t get along well and argue after just a few words, he’s still a filial child.
The Youngest Son only came once when his father was first admitted, and then didn’t show up for a long time, only coming more frequently in the past two months. Every time he came, he asked me to leave the room. It never looked like anything good was happening, and he always left with a dark expression.
The Police asked if the Nurse Aide had overheard anything.
The Nurse Aide said that from outside the door, she couldn’t hear clearly because he spoke in a low voice. But twice, when she looked through the window, she saw him holding paper and pen, as if trying to get his father to write something, but Father He refused.
Forcing a gravely ill father to write something…
I had a feeling-eight or nine times out of ten, it must be a Will.
The Nurse Aide said that the second time, as soon as he turned his head and saw her peeking, she was so scared she quickly hid. When he left, he didn’t say anything, just looked at her expressionlessly for a while. It gave her the creeps, and she couldn’t sleep well for days.
The Police asked, did you mention this to the Eldest Son?
The Nurse Aide said no, but the old man did. Once, when she entered the ward, she heard the old man say to the Eldest Son, “…How much money could I have? I spent it all treating your mother’s illness, and then my own. Even the old house in the countryside isn’t worth much. And he’s still eyeing what little I have left…” After saying this, he coughed in anger. The Eldest Son didn’t respond, maybe because he saw her come in.
The Nurse Aide also mentioned that the two sons were never present at the same time.
Finally, she concluded, “I think the Youngest Son saw that the old man didn’t have much time left and wanted to fight for the Inheritance. I’ve never seen him pay the hospital bills. He’s really an ingrate.”
Looking at it this way, it does seem like an Inheritance issue.
I’m familiar with this.
If there’s no Will, the Inheritance is divided according to statutory succession. Father He’s first-order heirs are only his two sons, so usually, the brothers would each get half.
The Eldest Son has fulfilled the main duty of supporting his father, so in principle, he could get a larger share; the Youngest Son has not fulfilled this duty and is not someone with special difficulties or lacking the ability to work, so there’s no reason for him to get more.
If He Tianying feels that his brother is better off and he himself is worse off and deserves more of the Inheritance, he would need Father He to make a valid Will, clearly stating how much more should go to him.
If he tries to force his gravely ill father to write a Will in his favor, even if it’s written, it would be invalid.
Because the law stipulates that a Will must reflect the true intentions of the testator; a Will made under coercion or deception is invalid.
If he killed his Elder Brother-the other heir-because his father refused to write a Will, hoping to become the sole heir, that would be pure fantasy.
Because the law stipulates that if an heir kills another person with inheritance rights in order to fight for the Inheritance, they will lose their right to inherit.
He Tianying refuses to confess and naturally won’t state his motive, so the motive can only be inferred from the evidence.
Killing his Elder Brother for the Inheritance-while legally ignorant, it does count as a criminal motive.
This motive was later confirmed.
The Police found a sheet of paper with the words “Will” written on it in the hospital room drawer. Only the heading was written, with no content. Handwriting analysis showed it was written by He Tianying, and the Fingerprint belonged to both He Tianying and Father He.
The Police asked Father He why He Tianying had been visiting so frequently recently.
Father He said, “For the Inheritance. He wants to take all of it.”
Because his father wouldn’t write a Will as he wished, He Tianying killed his brother, hoping to become the sole heir.
That is truly a motive that inspires no sympathy at all. Any judge would shake their head at this.
At this point, the development of the case became somewhat dull.
So He Tianying, who seemed so mysterious, is actually just a law-ignorant, unfilial son?
I pondered for a moment, unable to calm my mind.
I had a vague feeling that this case wasn’t so simple.